Thanksgiving withdrawal...

So we had the best Thanksgiving this year! We had every member of my family (all 20 of us) here in Cleveland to celebrate. Since Jacob shared his mission call (Manchester, England!!) we know it will be at least 2 years until we can do it again. There's something about looking around the table and seeing all the people you love and grew up with!! We had a great time, including one night that we sat around and just told stories about all the crazy things we did when we were little. We even broke out Lani's journal to verify the facts!!! I haven't laughed that hard for a long time!! It was so great...and now I'm going through withdrawal as I try to get back into my ever busy life. Here are some pics to share...

The day started with a little male bonding Turkey bowl...yes Jacob is wearing shorts!

Of course...lots of cooking. This year we brined the turkey...it made it a little more moist and flavorful, we'll never go back!

Setting the table...

While the rest raked the leaves at Seth and Emily's house...

No more room on and at the full table...

Jacob graduated from the kids table this year!

Kris wasn't shy...

Emily out did herself this year with 9 varieties of pie!! So good...we essentially had a second dinner with plates full of pie! yum...

After dinner calestenics...

Dancing....to work off all that food!

Lani and Grant!
Seth's outraged he ate too much!
Of course there was lots of football...Ricky educated the grandkids on what Thanksgiving's really all about!
Jacob REALLY enjoyed his dessert! :)

Push-ups...

...with help!

Jacob's endowement in Columbus...what a great day! I couldn't stop smiling!

Worn out on the way home!

Hyrum and Garrett...nothing like playing with your cousins!

Dogpile on dad!
Making our own Thanksgiving turkeys..
We rarely do the arcade games...but hey, it was Hyrum's birthday...why not? It wasn't all the kids imaged, after they lost all their money trying to win an ipod...

Life-size Candyland!

Hadley and Shayla dress up at the Kirtland nativity displays!

Hyrum's birthday waffles!

Hyrum turns 4!! With his animal cake...

Grant really loved the cake!


Can't you see why I have the post-Thanksgiving pre-Christmas blues? I need a little visit from someone to get me through! Anyone?! Anyone?

The conclusion...summer (well I guess now it's fall) in review...

Labor Day at Heather's! All these innocent children belong to reckless dermatologists who let their kids go swimming!!!!! What?!?! Okay they have sunscreen on!

Cleveland Dermatology Society meeting - here's my fantastic class...It's my first time to be the tallest in ANY group :)!!!! (Wait a minute...most of my high school friends were around 5'2" also...I guess I'm bound to always be the Amazon woman! :)

First day of school! Jeff's first day teaching at Case Western Reserve University and Hadley's first day of third grade. I'm happy to claim both of these cuties!

Hadley -- with her new easy bake oven...She likes the outfit more than the oven! Probable a little gratuitous that I let her spend all her birthday money on this little beauty..I ALWAYS WANTED ONE TOO! :) Maybe if I had one I would have developed a few more homemaking skills!

Hyrum dressing like his Grammy....

Hadley had to get into the action too! Christy dressed up to deliver a birthday singing telegram...it was hilarious! She always keeps us happy and laughing :)


Feeling happy here...how are you?

Summer in review...

Just so you know we've been alive these last few months...
Here we are taking the Rapid downtown to hear the Cleveland symphony play a Fourth of July festival...the kids liked the journey as much as the concert and fireworks. As soon as the concert ended it started to pour and we joined the hundreds of people trying to crowd back on the train. What a night!

Here's Hadley hugging her friend Emme after "This is Kirtland." Hadley is planning to be it in this year with her Grammy.

Of course...we did lots of swimming i.e. Christy moved in! :)

Hadley had a fun mother and daughter book club. Here they are dressed up like Laura Ingles Wilder after they read Little House on the Prairie. Hadley's going to resurrect this costume and wear it for Halloween. [Thanks mom for sewing the pioneer trek clothes, so I can look like supermom with hand-made costumes for my kids! :)]

Catching an Indian's game.

Don't the kids look happy?

Baseball America's favorite pasttime.

Twin's day! My hip chairman and 3 of my dermatologist friends.

New bikes!

How Hyrum liked to ride his new trike. :)

Zoo time...

butterfly jungle.

monkey love! I love Hyrum's face in this picture. Like he's telepathically communicating with the monkey statue. He's truly gifted! Of course all of that while I'm about ready to fall asleep from trecking around the zoo all day!

So now you see we were alive last summer...just out of touch! Don't give up on us!

Something easy, something new..

Just thought I'd share a fun new way to get my kids to eat fruit. This really takes just 30-60 minutes...even with the layers. Easy to make while cooking a main dish.

We called it "rainbow jello" but if you want to use more conventional jello colors, you could call it what you like! I'm probably the only mom pressured for time, so I use the shortcuts to make the jello set-up faster. Feel free to ignore if you are one of those mom's that is looking for ways to spend her time! :)

Rainbow Jello
1. Bottom layer:
Small lime green jello
Dissolve fully in 1/2 cup boiling water
Mix in 1 cup of ice for 1 minute
Filter/Scoop out big pieces of ice
Add 1/2 can crushed pineapple (drained)
Let set in fridge for 15-20 minutes

2. While setting:
Small blue raspberry jello
Dissolve in 1/2 cup boiling water
Mix in 1 cup of ice for 1 minute
Filter/Scoop out big pieces of ice
Cut banana slices - can cover with 2-5 drops lemon juice to keep color
wash and cut strawberries
line up banana slices on bottom layer
cover with layer of sour cream
Spoon strawberries onto sour cream layer
Spoon cooled strawberry jello over strawberries

Chill until fully set (1-2 hours)
Enjoy!

The marathon...that almost wasn't

After 18 weeks of daily training (including 20, 18, 16, etc. mile runs) Jeff prepared for his payoff--running the Akron marathon last Saturday. After a relaxing Friday night and a high carb dinner he was looking over the race instructions when he read..."all runners must pick up their numbers in person by 10:00 pm the NIGHT BEFORE the race." Huh? What? Why?! We looked at the clock (9:10 pm) and knowing that Akron was 40 minutes away....Jeff and Christy hopped in the car to get Jeff into his race. I booked them a hotel room on their way down and after a few phone calls (with some insulting words from the race director) and a 10:05 pm arrival to Akron a special exception was made for Jeff to pick up his number early Saturday morning. WHEW!! After all that hard work...it almost didn't happen!




But, he made it! He ran the marathon in a great time and we were all there to cheer him across the finish line! What a great accomplishment! He has had this goal for a long time and now he's done it. Of course, after meeting some of the maniac runners there, the question is...when and where is he going to run his next marathon?!?





This experience again reminds me of why I married Jeff. He's the kind of person that is consistent in a way that balances my inconsistency...and someone always up for a new challenge. Life is always interesting at Jeff's side!!!